Q: You write about how your professor encouraged you to “go
back” and examine your past. How did that eventual exploration of your
background change your feelings about yourself?

A: Learning about the struggle for the freedom of Soviet
Jews was incredible.I discovered this
immense network of individuals stretched across continents, all of whom had
dedicated so much to the struggle against the Soviet Union in the name of
complete strangers. It helped me feel worthy. I was also able to read about the
rich history of the Jewish people, which made me proud to be a Jew.

More than anything, going back and understanding my past was
key. The more I allowed my past to be suppressed and unknown, the more control
it had over me. By engaging my past I was able to regain that control.

Q: As you recreated your family’s experiences in and
departure from the Soviet Union, was more of your description based on your
actual memories, or on research and interviews?

A: That’s a great question. Most of the emotional scenes,
both good (walking in the park with my father, playing with my friend Oleg, receiving
a jacket in Vienna) and bad (crossing the Soviet border, being frozen with
terror when the druzhinniki swept through the yard) I remember very well.

They were moments that impact you and stay in your mind, for
better or worse, and were easy to recall because I’ve been carrying them in my
head most of my life.

Where the research came in is in placing the story within
the wider historical and social context. There are many things I remembered but
didn’t understand.

I vividly recall my father illegally purchasing matzah but
didn’t know why it was illegal, or how the Soviets had eradicated Jewish culture.
I remembered my family being terrified of pogrom rumors, but didn’t know why
Gorbachev’s reforms had led to an increase in anti-Semitism.

And, of course, there were factors my family didn’t know,
such as what the human rights workers who helped us were facing.That required research as well.

Q: How much of your family’s immigrant experience was
specific to the fact that you were from Kharkov, Ukraine, and how much could be
seen as universal?

A: I strove to describe the particulars, but believe it’s
applicable to many people and scenarios. The exotic elements – life in Soviet
Ukraine, escape as refugees, meeting a baron, living in the Alps – give flavor
to the narrative, but on the basic level it’s a story of family, being trapped,
trying to escape, and searching for self-understanding. These are things you
don’t have to be an immigrant or ex-refugee to relate to.

At the same time, I do hope that it helps American readers
understand some of the more foreign things, like the Eastern European Cold War
mindset and history (which is certainly relevant given today’s crisis in
Ukraine) as well as what it’s like to be an immigrant in America.

Q: How have your family members reacted to the memoir?

A: My sister asked me to change her name – she’s a private
person and I can certainly respect that. My parents were instrumental in
fleshing out details and helping me place life in Soviet Ukraine in context
(see my answer to question 2).

In the process, I not only received invaluable info for the
book but also got a glimpse of what they were going through when I was a child.
And, since I kept many of my own emotions hidden from my parents, reading this
book helped them learn more about me in return.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: Right now I’m focused on this book’s promotion and
publicity.The whole experience has been
one hell of a learning curve – from figuring out how to interview people, to
getting an agent, to working with an editor – and there is still lots to
learn.

Afterward, I have a couple ideas for the next book as well as
some magazine articles. Tracking down and interviewing people who had helped my
family (and hundreds of thousands of other Soviet Jews) was one of my favorite
parts of the process and I’d love to do more traveling and interviewing.

Q: Anything else we should know?

A: I feel that what makes this story unique is that it’s
written by someone who’s been on both ends of the soup kitchen. This is a book for
anyone who’s dropped off a coat or a can of food at a charity drive and
wondered, “Did I make a difference?”

Also, my last name can be anagrammed as “Lion King” or, if
you prefer, “Loin King.”

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Lev Golinkin will be participating in the Lessans Family Annual Book Festival at the JCC of Greater Washington, which runs from Nov. 6-16, 2014.

About Me

Author, THE PRESIDENT AND ME: GEORGE WASHINGTON AND THE MAGIC HAT, new children's book (Schiffer, 2016). Co-author, with Marvin Kalb, of HAUNTING LEGACY: VIETNAM AND THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY FROM FORD TO OBAMA (Brookings Institution Press, 2011).